Planting them in individual pots is a step some people take but it is not necessary. Let the plants grow in the jugs for a bit more then plant them directly in your garden.

Rodney

Rule of thumb is you shouldn't transplant seedlings until they set their "second" set of leaves which are the plant's actual first "true" leaves. The first leaves plants produce aren't "true" leaves; they're "seed" leaves and merely indicate the seed has germinated. The second set of leaves generally are shaped like the mature plants' leaves will be.

Wow, Campanula! Can you not irrigate due to city regulations or not having a water source near your gardens? Or, maybe I'm totally wrong. Would be interested to know what your watering situation is.

I have a question about transplanting when the plants are so young. Sometimes when I water those tiny plants I can easily wash all the soil off the roots and I'm left with seedlings whose roots are laying atop the soil. If you water from the bottom in a pot that won't happen. But, in the ground I can't water from the bottom. If you're watering your pots from the top, how do you avoid soil washout that exposes roots? Any trick you have would be helpful to me! I think watering is my biggest challenge when I transplant. It's not the need for water, it's the water not overpowering the little plants. Even if the water is gentle, if the plants end up in a little pool of water it seems their roots can float to the surface.

Hi Deanna - nope, there is no additional watering source in my pocket wood...and only one irregular source at my allotment...apart from the land-drains (and in emergency, I have used a saucepan attached to the end of a long pole while I dangle precariously over the ditch).

As for watering without exposing the roots...well, in pots, I use a really fine rose...but once in the ground, because I don't do spring planting, the transplants get puddled in (filling the hole with as much water as it will hold, planting the seedling, backfilling (sorta) and mulching. I use finely crumpled dry leaves...or fine grass cuttings...or chickengrit or sieved compost or chopped comfrey leaves - whatever comes to hand really, just to maintain a bit of protection for the often minuscule seedlings...and that's it. No more watering...so it is best to get the teeniest, tiniest plant safely in the ground as soon as possible. Keeping my numerous seedlings alive in my tiny urban courtyard is a nightmare of never going anywhere for more than 24 hours...and with over 70 permanent pots and hundreds of tinies, an irrigation system is a no-hoper. Obvs, I am a tad obsessed.

One thing I love about WS and those tiny seedlings are the fact that I'm not wasting HOURS and HOURS digging big holes, then loosening up the rootball, etc. Drives me crazy. I love making that little 2" hole (or in UK terms, 5 cm!) and that's it. Even crappy rocky soil is easy to work with. I know, I know...bad soil means bad growth. But, for the truly busy (sounds better than lazy) I can get the little suckers in the ground and then compost the top so easily. It's all about choosing the appropriate plant, right?

You make me appreciate my water rich area! Maine has plenty of water without the excessive humidity. Growing up in the south, which can be very water stressed as far as the ground goes, but humid as a bathroom in the air, I feel like it's a little bit of heaven.

You're beginning to really appreciate winter sowing with your continuing awareness of living on our planet. I'm in northern Connecticut and have lived here most of my life. My Mom, Dad & older brother were avid gardeners and my family has orchards in the region. Yes, it's a little bit of heaven.

For mulch, I lay down layers of recycled corrugated BROWN cardboard and top it with pine bark mulch. I use no chemicals to deter weeds and simply grin when crocus pop up through my lawn each year. If I find a noxious weed, I use vinegar to kill it rather than chemicals.

Last year two women walked down my driveway (selling something as I guessed) and began exclaiming about the beauty of my garden. To me, it's simply my garden as I envisioned it over the years it but to them it was something out of the ordinary. It must have struck them as a little bit of heaven.

I just do the HOS (hunk of seedlings- I think that's what it's called!) method. I've too many milk jugs - (103) - to pull out the seedlings individually. It works for me every year.